ROX classes help New Albany student with the challenges of growing up

I decided to participate in the ROX program because it was a good opportunity to learn

Photo courtesy of author

something new.

We’ve learned about how to deal with bullying and girl drama, and also about self-defense.

So far, I’ve enjoyed the class on self-defense the most. We learned about using either our words or our bodies to signal to someone to back off or stop doing something that makes us uncomfortable. I liked how we learned about applying certain techniques to real-life situations. For example, if there were a robber in my home, I could use one of our methods of self-defense and use fingers to poke an eye to get away and be safe.

If I were dealing with conflict at school, I could use words to stand up for myself instead of resorting to physical contact. We were taught in class that when we communicate this way, we have to make sure we talk with a firm voice so we’re taken seriously.

ROX has also helped me learn how to better communicate with my friends. I have a lot of friends, and many of them fight with each other. They often get mad and stop talking to one another. Eventually, they apologize, but then the process repeats. Now when this happens, I try to use the “I feel” statements to tell them how I feel to help break up the conflict.

I might say something like, “I felt sad when you hurt my friend, so I want you to apologize to

Nallari, far right, attends a ROX class.

my friend.”

You have to say it in a firm voice, so whoever you’re speaking to knows that you’re serious and not joking around. Sometimes, it doesn’t work, but most of the time, it does.

ROX is such a nice program, and it can help girls like myself who are entering higher grades in school deal with self-esteem and communicate in a positive way to others.